£50 fine for leaving box at bottle bank

“The trouble is Pinnochio we have to wonder why the council pursues a little old lady who leaves a cardboard box at a re-cycling site, a man who scrapes a cigarette off his shoe and yet completely does a Nelson when confronting travellers dumping literally tons of rubbish for all to see.

A while ago there were three caravans outside the workshops where I have my business, in one week they had left 3 lorry loads of rubbish there - I still have the photographs if anyone wants to see them, yet when I phoned the council they refused to take any action telling my I was lying.

Now when the council starts after the people who are really messing up our countryside I think we might take the above incident with a little more grace, but when they deliberately go after easy targets all the time you begin to wonder.”

“All sorts gets dumped around these recycle bins, the Council have to take strong action otherwise people think it is acceptable behaviour and the mess ac***ilates and the place looks untidy. These sites are for recycling only. If the Council provided large 'non recycling bins' then guaranteed they would be abused and people would be using the sites to dump all sorts. General warnings are not effective in my opinion. Fines get the message across that dumping waste is not acceptable behaviour. Don't drop litter, don't dump waste, don't make excuses.”

“Recycling/litter fines, speed cameras fines, council taxes rises, water rates, train fares/fuel,car insurance, Severn bridge tolls....Will the last person leaving Wales please put the lights out....or you'll be fined.”

“rediculous,if coucil workers did a bit more to help people at the recycling centres,councils want to make their workers do more,instead of standing around watching old people struggling with waste out of their cars!!”

“Personally, I would have taken my recycling home again if the bins were full but I can see why people would assume it's ok to leave their rubbish by an overflowing bin when others do. I use the recycling bins there and alongside the numerous bottle banks, clothes bank, etc, there is only one tiny little 'general waste' rubbish bin which is ALWAYS overflowing and surrounded by rubbish bags and boxes. Carmarthenshire County Council claim this is emptied daily, but this is not always the case.

If this "in effect fly-tipping" is a regular occurrance, howcome only 8 people have been fined? Considering I personally know 2 of them, and the above is a 3rd named person - clearly everyone who Carmarthenshire County Council say should be fined, isn't? Or is it just the motorists who can be traced via car registration numbers that they're chasing? I guess if you walk down there and dump your rubbish or park out of range of the CCTV camera, the chances are you'll get away with it as you'll be untraceable. Hardly seems fair does it.

Simple solution Carmarthenshire - PROVIDE A BIGGER GENERAL RUBBISH BIN! And in times when we are all struggling financially, why not offer a one-chance warning if the person agrees to take their rubbish back, dispose of it properly and not do it again, before slapping them with expensive fines and naming and shaming them publicly? Doesn't exactly encourage recycling does it!”

“If people are bringing their bottles to the bank common sense would say that they are using something to carry them in. Is it beyond the wit of the council to supply a receptacle for these bags and boxes? It would appear so.”

“A gentle reminder would have been the best thing in this case. After all, she did recycle her bottles and cans. Seems like she made a genuine mistake. Shame on the council.”

“I have said more than once that re-cycling was brought in simply to raise money from fining people, like a lot of laws enacted over the last ten years.”

“I am sick to death of the excuses peolpe make, this is nothing more then littering. If someone stands next to a bin and throws their chocolate wrapper on the floor, i think most sensible people would class it as littering, so how does this differ? The recycling sites aren't there for people to dump their rubbish around the skips, it is there for recycling. I have seen alsorts of rubbish dumped around the bin including 100's of glass bottles (a lot of which are smashed), piles of card board boxes, tv's and bags of rotting bins. It is dangerous, unhygenic and provides harborage for pests. Besides all of that, the recycling areas have signs warning people not to leave things around the bin. It's about time people took responsibility for their actions and have a bit of pride in their community, this person was caught fair and square and now she has to face the consequences.”

“Petty bureaucracy again. Is she a pensioner? These people just love to pick on the easy targets.”